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Acquired by the Pirates in 1939, Elbie Fletcher saw his greatest success in a Pittsburgh uniform. He led the league in on-base percentage for three straight years before playing in an All Star game in 1943. Fletcher remained with the Pirates until the end of the 1947 season. It was during his many years in Pittsburgh that Fletcher came to know the great Honus Wagner who was a Pirates coach from 1933-1951.

In the collection is this letter from Fletcher recalling Wagner’s, “tall stories” and that he performed  “most of the time without a glove, sharpening his spikes to cut up opposing players. His wild stories kept us all excited. He was a fine man and as his record shows, one of the greatest.”

Fletcher provides first-hand insight into Wagner’s later years in baseball.

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Elbie Fletcher enjoyed a 12-year Major League career, most of which with the Pirates. Here Fletcher writes about Pie Traynor, “In 1939 I was sold to the Pitts. Pirates and ‘Pie’ Traynor was the manager, a great break for me. He was a ‘Hall of Famer’, an outstanding third baseman, and an excellent hitter. What more could you ask for?”

Fletcher led the league in on-base percentage in 1940, ’41, and ’42. The following year the sweet-fielding first baseman was an All Star. Unfortunately he then lost two seasons to World War II. He returned to the Pirates and played three more seasons before retiring at age 33.

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Elbie Fletcher had fond memories of Honus Wagner as his coach during their time together with the Pirates from 1939-1947. In the collection is this letter signed by Wagner in 1935, his third season as coach with Pittsburgh, four years before Fletcher joined the team.

Wagner thanks NL President Ford Frick for a most thoughtful and useful gift. Imagine having a lifetime pass to any game in the National League. That’s what Frick bestowed upon Wagner 18 years after the Flying Dutchman retired. Overjoyed by the gesture Wagner, one of the first five Hall of Fame inductees, sent a handwritten thank-you letter to Frick 12 days later on April 25, 1935.

Wagner dropped the letter at the post office on a Thursday afternoon after the Pirate team for which he served as hitting instructor fell in 6-0 loss at Cincinnati. Future Hall of Famer Waite Hoyt took the loss for Pittsburgh, but Wagner’s thoughts were full of gratitude to Frick for his kind gesture.

Notice Wagner’s flowing handwriting and gracious tone in the letter which is signed “J Honus Wagner Pirate Coach” at the bottom of the hotel letterhead.

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Elbie Fletcher thought highly of Pie Traynor both as a manager and as a man. Most of the Traynor autographs that survive today are similar to this index card in which the third baseman has written, “Pie Traynor”. That makes the first image on this page a bit remarkable. Much less common is the more formal, “Harold Traynor” as shown on Traynor’s own player page in a vintage handwritten letter that can be seen by clicking here.

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Some have argued that Elbie Fletcher was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before his career was interrupted with World War II. The slick-fielding first baseman was just hitting his stride. In 1940 his age-24 season, Fletcher finished 4th in the NL in RBI and started a streak of four straight years in which finished in the top ten in on-base percentage. The run included three consecutive league-leading finishes from 1940-1942. Using advanced metrics, Fletcher finished 5th in WAR in both 1940 and ’41 and 9th in 1942. The following season he made his first all star team only to have the War stop his ascent by wiping away 1944 and ’45 in their entirety.

In the collection is this 3×5 card autographed by Elbie Fletcher. Below his signature Fletcher has written, “Major League 1934-1949 1st Base”.

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Elbie Fletcher played his first four big league seasons with the Boston Braves. After playing in 35 games for the Boston in 1939, the Braves traded him to the Pirates. From there Fletcher played in Pittsburgh through the 1947 season. The first baseman led the National League in on-base percentage three consecutive seasons in Pittsburgh finishing with a lifetime mark of .384. Shown here is an autographed reprint of Feltcher’s 1940 Play Ball card. Fletcher has added “1939 Pirates” below his signature.

Fletcher made his major league debut in 1934 in an unusual way. A contest was held to determine which Boston-area high school player was most likely to reach the major leagues, with the winner receiving an invitation to the Braves’ spring training camp. With the help of a number of votes from his large family, Fletcher won, and then actually made the team.